Councilor recall petition drive begins in Bangor

BANGOR, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- The petition drive to recall five Bangor city councilors has begun.

Councilors Pat Blanchette, Rick Bronson, Susan Hawes, David Neally, and Gerry Palmer voted last week to uphold the decision to terminate city manager Ed Barrett's contract a year early. That initiated a campaign to recall those councilors.

Jim Elmore is leading the drive and rented space in downtown Bangor out of which to lead the effort. In the first ten minutes that the office was open on Wednesday, eight people came in to sign the petitions.

Many said although they know Barrett won't be coming back since he took a job to be Lewiston's city administrator, they want the councilors to be held accountable

"I want to stand up for Ed Barrett's rights," said Mary Stockley, the first person to sign the petitions. "I think they treated him disgracefully. I'm ashamed of the whole bunch of them."

Elmore said he's happy Barrett got a new job, but that's not going to stop his recall effort.

"The councilors that are named in this petition are, as near as I can make out, in a rather secretive situation, responsible for springing a surprise attack. How I think of it, a Pearl Harbor situation."

Elmore and his group have 60 business days to collect 2,286 signatures from registered Bangor voters.

People who want to sign the petition can also do so during regular business hours at Bangor City Hall.